Is Your First Thought Always the Voice of Intuition?

One piece of questionable wisdom that is often shared in psychic development circles and tarot study groups is this.

When you are seeking psychic truth, your intuition is always the first thought that comes to you. Trust that first thought to be true.

I want to unpack this nugget.

Let me start by saying that, when dealing with psychic and intuitive work, divination, and other spiritual practices, the word ‘always’ runs up my spine like a razor. There are so few ‘always’ and ‘never’ situations in real life, and even fewer in the liminal world of psychic truth. When a practitioner or teacher of psychic arts uses the word ‘always’, it might be good to question the veracity of those teachings.

Any good diviner or psychic truth-seeker knows that each person is different, and each scenario is unique. While there are certainly archetypes, universal experiences, and shared commonalities, psychic work is not about putting people and situations into broad categories.

The same is true as we work to discover and expand our psychic awareness and intuitive gifts.

We do sometimes have common experiences. Yet, we can all have different ways into truth.

In doing professional tarot reading, I often need to decide what a particular card might mean in the context of the spread in which it appears. Very often, my first thought is the farthest from the truth. It might take me a minute to try out different theories in my brain to see which one feels like truth, before I find the statement I want to make to my client.

If I were to trust my first thought as truth, each and every time, I would be known far and wide as a lousy psychic. This is because my process works best when I consider different possibilities and angles. I wait for the feeling that I have come to identify as my intuitive confirmation.

For another person, it may be that their first thought really is usually the one that is correct.

If you are a teacher or student of intuitive arts, remember this most important point.

We all hear and feel truth differently.

The intuitive process is a very important part of meaningful tarot reading, and perhaps the hardest to teach. We teachers must encourage our students to discover what works for them, and what is true for them. We must help them discover and trust their individual processes.

It is also true that we may hear our intuition in a certain way today, and in a different way tomorrow. A good reader knows that Spirit speaks the way Spirit will, and that way can change from day to day.

This means that ‘always’ is not a thing even in the practice of an individual.

How, then, can we know when we have arrived at truth? Sometimes we just feel it. Sometimes we will not know we have spoken truth until someone confirms it for us. Sometimes we use other tools and methods to corroborate or question our findings. Different readings go different ways. We trust our intuition to guide us as to the questions we ask, the techniques we use, and every aspect of the way we conduct each reading. We practice discovering what the truth feels like. We learn, over time, by observing the actual outcomes of the readings we have performed, how we are able to find and deliver truth.

That is why a good reader, whether casual or professional, will nurture a wide skillset, and be open to new experiences in every reading.

We all must learn, as individuals, our unique path to truth.

If the first thought is not intuition, what might be the source of the first thought?

The first thought may be borne of anxiety, fear, or desire. The first thought might be an assumption based on past experiences. The first thought might be borne of denial. The first thought might be the most obvious or logical conclusion. The first thought might be the natural conclusion based on the individual’s personal belief system.

The reader might not have the experience to be able to imagine what the actual truth is without careful consideration and further exploration.

At each moment in the psychic process, all things are possible. It is the job of the reader to sort through the possibilities to find the probabilities and the truths that are available to them.

Oracle Cards for Psychic Development

This topic is broad enough, and important enough, to fill a book. Yet, this will be simply a short blog post meant to get you thinking, and to get you using your oracle cards in a deeper and more profound way.

First, let me define what I mean by ‘oracle cards’ and which type of oracle cards I am specifically recommending for this process.

Technically, all cards of cartomancy, tarot, Lenormand, Kipper, etc., are oracle cards. All psychic tools are, by definition, oracles. Yet, in the cartomancy community we have begun using the word ‘oracle’ to describe cards designed for cartomancy that are their own unique system, and not tarot, Lenormand or Kipper.

I will use the term ‘oracle’ in this context for the remainder of this post.

We could loosely divide most oracle decks into two categories. One category would be oracle decks designed for a specific purpose. For example, I have oracle decks designed to do past life readings. I have oracle decks designed to communicate with aliens from other planets.

The second category would be oracle decks that are created for more nonspecific purposes, and often used simply for healing, introspection and general divination. It is that second category of deck I would like to address here.

Most of these types of oracle decks, regardless of their title, artist, or author, have some things in common. Typically, each card is a wonderful and inspiring work of art worthy of contemplation. Each card may have a thought-provoking name, and may include a few words for affirmation, explanation and introspection.

These decks usually include booklets which give a more detailed explanation of each card. Most professionals who work with these sorts of decks will memorize the cards and their booklet explanations., As with all cartomancy decks, the reader will discover the ways the cards speak in readings that go beyond what the booklet explains. Each serious oracle deck reader will develop their own understanding of their tool, and their own methods for working with their tool.

Many of us who own oracle decks, however, don’t do that kind of study with them. In fact, one of the things many of us love about oracle decks is that, unlike systems like tarot, Kipper, and Lenormand, oracle decks don’t require serious study and memorization for effective use.

Yet, a problem arises. Very often, when we read oracle cards, we simply read the word or words on the card, and don’t bother to interpret them in the context of the question, the situation, or the individual. That oracle cards, at first glance, are simple and easy to read discourages us from going deeper with them. Yet, it is in that deeper exploration that real wisdom is found, and that psychic awareness is awakened.

For example, I was recently working with a student. I asked her to draw three oracle cards from her deck to answer a specific question and interpret them. The deck she was using had single keywords on each card. The three cards she pulled were ‘New Beginnings’, ‘Balance’, and ‘Emerging’.

She quickly looked at the cards and said, “Yes, this is exactly what we have been talking about, and what I know I need to do. Yawn”.

I was struck by how clearly her reaction to the cards summed up the way many people treat their oracle card readings. It was a wonderful opportunity to show her how to truly process the cards and find deeper personal wisdom in them, and deeper psychic connection as a result.

If you, like my student, find yourself glossing over oracle cards rather than doing the deep dive, here are some things to try.

First, remember that the brow chakra, or third eye, is the reason that cartomancy is so effective. The third eye is responsible for our eyesight, our imagination, and our psychic vision. When we view an image in a cartomancy deck, we use our eyesight, which triggers our imagination, which engages our psychic vision.

When you contemplate an oracle card, or a tarot card, consider this process and take the time to allow this to happen.

When you pull your oracle card, spend time looking at the image with a soft gaze. Allow your imagination to engage your psychic vision to scry into the image, and see what speaks to you, and what comes to you in thoughts and sensations. Consider how what you see and what you feel during this process might supply answers and information.

Then, look at the word or words on the card. How does what is written on the cards apply to the question, or the individual, specifically? How does that connect with what you have experienced in the picture?

If you have pulled more than one card, how do the cards work together? Do they tell a story? Do they offer options?

A huge part of effective divination is to take your time. As you take your time, look deeply, and ask yourself questions about what you are seeing, reading, thinking and experiencing.

This is the process of divination with any tool of random token divination. As we work this process, we naturally tune in to our own psychic awareness.

The truth of psychic development is that it works like a muscle. The more we use it, the more we exercise it, the stronger it gets. I think we often ignore the power our oracle cards have to help us get this exercise.

A next step is to logically consider how what you have experienced with your card or cards relates to your question, your situation, or your querent. Remember that logically consideration is also a huge part of divination. There is a place where logic and psychic insight meet and work together. That place can often be over a deck of cards.

Three Things I Learned from Donald Michael Kraig

I am saddened by the news of the death of one of my favorite Pagan authors, Donald Michael Kraig.

I met Don a couple of times in the late 1990s, when we both were presenters at American Tarot Associations conventions in Albany. At the time, he was already a well-known author.

Over the years we had a few phone conversations and exchanged a few emails. I had always assumed our paths would cross again one day.

That Don passed on March 17^th strikes me. Many modern Pagans celebrate March 17^th as “All Snakes Day,” in recognition of the stories of St. Patrick’s atrocities toward Irish Pagans.

Although there are reasons to doubt the historical accuracy of those stories, All Snakes Day has become something of a modern Pagan holiday. I don’t know if Don celebrated it or not. I do bet that, over the next years and decades, many Pagans will take a moment to honor the life of Donald Michael Kraig each and every March 17^th as part of their All Snakes Day celebration.

I often quote Don in my classes. Although we didn’t spend any significant time together, I learned a lot from him. Here are three things I learned from Donald Michael Kraig.

1. It’s human nature to act against the advice of divination, and that’s ok.

   Readers so often bemoan the fact that clients don’t take our advice. Don assumed and accepted that we have the prerogative to do what we want, regardless of the information we receive from divination. To me that has always been very freeing and affirming. It allows us to use divination in a more proactive way.

2. Divination and magick are linked.

   Don’s books really helped me understand the way magick and divination work together, and the way tarot fits into all of that. Without his work I would not have been able to do mine.

3. Teach with your whole self.

   Don was a truly great teacher. I was fascinated by his stories. When Don taught a class, all of his body, mind and spirit was focused on the task. He would jump up and down and wave his arms around, gesturing wildly. He managed to be funny, grounded and wise. I try to do the same.

I’m grateful that I had a chance to meet Donald Michael Kraig. I know that through his books, and through the people he taught, his wisdom will continue on forever.

During Don’s struggle with pancreatic cancer a fund was established to help with expenses. Please considering making a donation in his memory.